Purdue Commercial AgCast

Farmer sentiment reached a four-year high in May. Purdue ag economists James Mintert and Michael Langemeier share their insight into the results of the May 2025 Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer survey, conducted from May 12-16, in this episode of the Purdue Commercial AgCast. The barometer rose 10 points to 158, the highest since May 2021, driven by optimism about future and current farm conditions. The Farm Financi...

Kyle Maple and Pete Drost, professionals in the farmland investment space join hosts Todd Kuethe and Chad Fiechter in this episode of Purdue Commercial AgCast. Maple and Drost share their backgrounds, roles within US Agriculture, and day-to-day tasks in farmland asset management. They share how they identify investment opportunities, source deals through various networks, and the importance of both financial knowledge and effective...

Farmer sentiment improved in April as producers expressed more optimism about current and future conditions on their farms. Purdue ag economists James Mintert and Michael Langemeier share their insight into the results of the April 2025 Ag Economy Barometer survey, conducted from April 14-21, in this episode of the Purdue Commercial AgCast. The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer rose 8 points to a reading of 148, up f...

Matt Erickson, an ag economic and policy advisor and former chief economist for the U.S. Senate Committee joins hosts Todd Kuethe and Chad Fiechter in this episode of Purdue Commercial AgCast. Erickson shares his background, including his academic journey at Purdue University and internships that led to his extensive career in agricultural policy. He describes his work at various organizations such as the American Farm Bureau Feder...

Weaker expectations for the future led to a decline in farmer sentiment in March as the Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer index fell 12 points to a reading of 140, down from 152 a month earlier. Purdue ag economists James Mintert and Michael Langemeier share their insight into the results of the March 2025 Ag Economy Barometer survey, conducted from March 10-14, in this episode of the Purdue Commercial AgCast. They a...

U.S. farmer sentiment continued its upward trend in February, as the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer rose 11 points from the previous month to a reading of 152. Purdue ag economists James Mintert and Michael Langemeier share some insight into the results of the February 2025 Ag Economy Barometer survey, conducted from February 10-14, in this episode of the Purdue Commercial AgCast. They discuss factors driving the ...

U.S. farmers retained their post-election optimistic outlook at the start of the new year as the January Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer Index rose 5 points above a month earlier to a reading of 141. Purdue ag economists James Mintert and Michael Langemeier share some insight into the results of the January 2025 Ag Economy Barometer survey, conducted from January 13-17, in this episode of the Purdue Commercial AgCa...

Farmer sentiment drifted lower in December as the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer dropped 9 points to a reading of 136. The decline was driven by producers’ weaker perspective on current conditions in U.S. agriculture and their farms, with the Index of Current Conditions falling 13 points to 100. Although the Current Conditions Index declined this month, it remains 24 points above its low in September and 5 points ...

This special edition of the Purdue Commercial AgCast features Matt Erickson, policy specialist at Farm Credit Services of America, and Chad Fiechter, research director at Purdue's Center for Commercial Agriculture. They discuss their upcoming presentations at the Purdue Top Farmer Conference on January 10th. Erickson highlights the economic and policy issues under the new administration, including the impact of inflation, tariffs, ...

Farmer sentiment jumped again in November, with the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer climbing 30 points to a reading of 145. This marked the highest level of farmer optimism since May 2021. Purdue ag economists James Mintert and Michael Langemeier share some insight into the results of the November 2024 Ag Economy Barometer survey, conducted Nov. 11-15, 2024, the week following the U.S. presidential election. Both o...

Farmer sentiment saw an unexpected surge in October ahead of the upcoming U.S. election, according to the latest Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer. Purdue ag economists James Mintert and Michael Langemeier share some insight into the results of the October 2024 Ag Economy Barometer survey, conducted from Oct. 14-18, 2024. The Barometer Index rose 27 points to 115, with increases in both the Current Condition Index an...

Join Purdue ag economists Michael Langemeier, Todd Kuethe, and James Mintert as they discuss farmland rental agreements, with a focus on flexible cash rent leases versus traditional cash rental and crop share arrangements. They combine their comparison of  cropland flex leases to cash rental agreements with insights from the 2024 Purdue Farmland and Cash Rental Rate Survey. The discussion covers cash rental trends in west central I...

In this episode of the Purdue Commercial AgCast, Chad Fiechter hosts Michael O'Donnell, a regional manager at Belltown Farms, who focusing on converting conventional farms to organic. The discussion highlights Belltown's operations across multiple states, emphasizing organic grain production. The conversation covers the strategies and challenges of transitioning conventional farms to organic production, the state of organic grain m...

In September, the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer recorded its lowest readings since March 2016. Purdue ag economists James Mintert and Michael Langemeier share some insight into the results of the September 2024 Ag Economy Barometer survey, conducted from Sept. 9-13, 2024. This month, the Ag Economy Barometer fell 12 points to 88, marking significant concerns among producers, especially crop farmers. The discussio...

Join Purdue ag economists Todd Kuethe, Michael Langemeier and James Mintert as they discuss farmland cash rental rates on this, the second episode of two episodes reviewing the 2024 Purdue Farmland Values and Cash Rents Survey results. Each June, Purdue's department of agricultural economics surveys knowledgeable professionals regarding Indiana's farmland and cash rental market. The trio of ag economists review survey results and l...

Join Purdue ag economists Todd Kuethe, Michael Langemeier and James Mintert as they discuss Indiana farmland values on this, the first of two episodes reviewing the 2024 Purdue Farmland Values and Cash Rents Survey results. Each June, the department of agricultural economics surveys knowledgeable professionals regarding Indiana's farmland and cash rental market. The 2024 survey results confirmed that the average value for Indiana f...

The August Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer dropped 13 points from July to a reading of 100, echoing levels seen from fall 2015 to winter 2016 during the early stages of a significant downturn in the U.S. farm economy. The Index of Current Conditions also dropped 17 points to 83, while the Index of Future Expectations decreased by 11 points to 108. Weakening farm income prospects weighed on farmers’ sentiment a...

Is your farm business prepared for the future? Maria Marshall and Renee Wiatt join host Brady Brewer in this episode to discuss how the many generations of family engaged in a family business interact with one another. One of the challenges in a family business is understanding the differences in generational perspectives on the business and possible succession. This episode reviews results from a recent survey conducted across the...

Three broad-based measures of farmer sentiment improved in July as the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer Index rose 8 points to 113, the Index of Current Conditions increased by 10 points to 100, and the Index of Future Expectations at 119 was 7 points higher than a month earlier. Despite declines in corn and soybean prices, Eastern Corn Belt cash prices went down 11% and 5%, respectively, from mid-June to mid-July, ...